This Coloring Book Wants To Change How We Talk About Periods

There are only a few ways we typically talk about periods in public, and those ways typically don't really get into the nitty gritty of what's going on in your uterus. That's because there's still a lot of shame and stigma around periods. We've been taught to believe periods are a gross, private thing, but in reality it's something happening monthly to a big number of people across the world. Instead of being secretive about our periods, Cass Clemmer, a genderqueer artist and educator, wants us to describe them in color — literally. Cass made a coloring book following Toni the Tampon, a made-up tampon character, and their friends designed to educate people about periods and crack the stigma surrounding them. The coloring book challenges more than just stigma. By including characters that don't fit into the gender binary that we typically shove periods into, Cass is encouraging everyone to stop talking about periods as something that only happens to girls. Toni is a gender-neutral character, and their friends Sebastian the Sea Sponge and Marina the Menstrual Cup represent the diversity of people that menstruate. It's not just girls, it's transgender people, gender-neutral people, and most other people with a uterus. Basically, Cass wants to totally transform the way we talk about periods, one coloring book page at a time. We talked to Cass about Toni and why it's so important to shift the conversation about periods into the public. Here's what Cass had to say.

What inspired you to create a period product coloring book?

"I came up with the idea while studying menstruation in a class on societal taboos. I realized that I had never received any body-positive lessons on periods and never felt comfortable talking about menstruation, so I decided to create something I could have definitely used when I was younger: a fun, interactive coloring book that presents periods in a positive and humorous light."

How can your coloring book help educate both young people and adults?

"My period coloring book is a great way to introduce young people of all ages to periods because it doesn’t ask that you grapple with any knowledge or terms you’re not ready for – it’s literally a collection of menstrual hygiene characters having adventures! My goal was to create an educational tool that makes it easier for parents to talk about periods with their kids, empowers young menstruators to ask questions about their own menstrual health, and inspires others to start having more inclusive, fun conversations about menstruation to help smash the period taboo."

What do you most hope young people learn from the book?

"I hope that most young people learn that periods aren’t something we have to be ashamed of. Half the world menstruates and there is no reason why we can’t have a little fun with the fact that our uteruses act as a squeegee for blood and tissue every month or so!"

Why did you choose the names you did for Toni and their friends?

"I chose Toni’s name because I intentionally wanted to create a character that did not fall within the gender binary, and using a gender neutral name was the first step. The rest of the characters are named after friends or by friends to reinforce a diversity of gender identity and presentation. We have Marina the Menstrual Cup, who uses she/her/hers pronouns and is named after my fierce roommate, Patrice the Pad who also uses she/her/hers, and Sebastian the Sea Sponge who uses he/him his."

Why is it important to include different genders in a coloring book about menstruators?

"Even though in the past two years we have had a huge upsurge in public discussions about periods, a lot of those conversations still revolve around women who menstruate. Unfortunately, that narrative excludes a whole group of menstruators who do not identify as women. If we’re going to end the taboo and talk about everything menstruation, we better be prepared to stick to that promise. I wanted to make sure that in my own work, at least, I created a space where trans and non-binary menstruators like me felt affirmed and centered in menstrual health education."

What has the reaction to the coloring book been like?

"From communities who have purchased the book, the reaction has been incredibly supportive and positive – a lot of people are genuinely curious about periods and what it meant to discuss them in a gender-inclusive context using cartoonish drawings. My favorite feedback has been when I get messages and photos from parents talking about how they’ve used the period coloring book to talk with their kids about not only menstruation, but puberty and sexual health.

However, in the last two weeks Toni and I have been targeted by right-wing media sites who claim that my period coloring book amounts to ‘child abuse’ because it affirms trans and non-binary menstruators. I have received hundreds of negative comments, e-mails, and messages – all with people telling me to kill myself, get locked up in a mental institution, get run over by a car, and most recently, a threat that if I continue my work with Toni the Tampon that I will not live to see another day. Though it is tough to push through the harassment and keep posting photos of Toni every day, I refuse to back down. If anything, the negative reaction has only motivated me to work harder to create more spaces for all menstruators to feel affirmed and welcomed in the larger period movement."

How can your coloring book help dismantle stigma surrounding menstruation?

"In society, we’re often taught to hide any evidence of our periods so that no one can see. We restrict conversations and the display of hygiene products to the space between bathroom stalls, and we develop incredibly unique ways to hide our period from anyone who, god forbid, were to find out we were on our monthly cycle. This period coloring book is a great way to disrupt the narrative of shame and help bring periods into every day discussion among friends, students, community members, and family. By coloring these pages, from the pad who is a magician, to the skateboarding menstrual cup or astronaut tampon, people can intentionally engage with menstruation in a way that is radically different than what we have ever been taught. One of my biggest hopes is that one day someone will send me a photo of one of my period coloring pages taped up on a refrigerator door for all to see."

How do you think it can help dismantle stigma around who menstruates?

"By the simple act of naming my tampon Toni, my sea sponge Sebastian, and by being open about my own gender identity in a very public sphere, the period coloring book helps, at the very least, introduce the idea that not everyone who menstruates identifies as a woman. I hope that by providing that representation even just through some fun period coloring pages, we can start to move toward respecting other people’s lived identities and ensuring our movements are actively inclusive and affirming of all menstruators."